Swindon households are likely to see their council tax bill rise after a Government decision today allowing local authorities to increase bills by up to 6 per cent to help ease pressure on local services.
Although the council are yet to announce whether they will take advantage of the new funding option it would be hard top see them turning down the chance to ease the burden of constant cuts to the annual budget by Central Government.
Currently the council can only put up council tax by two per cent thanks to a Government cap – now rising to three per cent – without holding a local referendum to ask the public their thoughts. For 2018 they will also be able to add a further three percent to pay towards the spiralling social care bill.
Talking about the increase Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This settlement strikes a balance between giving councils the ability to increase their core council tax requirement by an additional 1 per cent without a local referendum and bringing the core principle in line with inflation.
“This change, combined with the additional flexibility on the adult social care precept that I confirmed last year, gives local authorities the independence they need to help relieve pressure on local services.”
Council tax rises per band for 2018
- A – £64 – new rate = £1125
- B – £74 – new rate = £1311
- C – £85 – new rate = £1499
- D – £95 – new rate = £1698
- E – £117 – new rate = £2074
- F – £138 – new rate = £2448
- G – £159 – new rate = £2823
- H – £191 – new rate = £3385
Police forces will also be allowed to charge an extra £12 per household, on top of the local authority increase, to help tackle the pressure on forces caused by investigations into modern slavery, domestic abuse and child abuse.
The £12 a year increase on household bills is the limit that can be charged by police and crime commissioners without a local referendum having to be called.
Its quite handy that the Police will be allowed to charge £12 extra too, maybe they can look into the council and investigate them for modern slavery, because when ya wages can’t cover the cost of living, that’s exactly what it is……
Another rise in council tax what for the council should be held to account for its total mismanagement of council tax to date as for a referendum we were not allowed one on the parishing last year and services have not improved as a result of the council holding the parish to ransom over property within the parish